The dangerous erosion of respect for international law among powerful nations and deepening geopolitical rifts between them has paralyzed the UN Security Council established to protect the rights and sovereignty of its members.

During Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to Beijing, both countries also agreed to deepen their economic, trade, and military cooperation under the now extended Treaty of Good Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation signed in 2001.

During the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Beijing, China reiterated the need for a comprehensive ceasefire in the region after calling the US-Israeli war on Iran “illegitimate”.

China called for deescalation and a return to diplomatic means, because the longer the war lasts the greater the difficulties become for the world economy and global energy supplies.

The indiscriminate bombing and killing of civilians can qualify as “collective punishment”, which is prohibited under international law and could be war crimes under the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949).

The UN has adopted a landmark declaration, introduced by Ghana, recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity,” in a move that has intensified calls for reparations from African and Caribbean countries.

Mientras Irán insiste en sus condiciones para poner fin a la guerra, a Estados Unidos e Israel les quedan pocas opciones viables. Pueden continuar con los bombardeos, pero también seguirán enfrentándose a una escalada iraní que inflige daños a Israel y a los intereses estadounidenses en la región.

As Iran presses its conditions for ending the war, the US and Israel are left with few good options. They can continue bombing, but they will also continue to see Iranian escalation that inflicts harm on Israel and on US interests in the region.

Nearly 2,000 Iranians, including 250 students and teachers, have been killed and over 24,000 of them have been injured in the indiscriminate US-Israeli bombings going on for a month now.

The talks are taking place amid a critical energy crisis on the island, caused by new sanctions imposed on Cuba, which, according to the UN, have led to a severe health, educational, social, and food crisis.

Amidst fresh threats of escalation from the US and Israel, Iran warned of continued retaliation, claiming on Tuesday that peace and stability in the region will either be for everyone or for none.

The massacre in Abiemnom County follows the unravelling of the 2018 peace agreement between President Salva Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar last year, dragging the world’s youngest republic back toward civil war.